UFC 113: Undercard Preview and Predictions

The UFC will look to get a good start off at UFC 113 with an exciting undercard. This won't happen without a hitch however, as this card has seen its fair share of changes.

Tim Credeur was scheduled to face Tom Lawlor, but Tim was forced from the card with an injury and replaced by Joe Doerksen.

Joey Beltran was set to face off against Chad Corvin, however after Corvin’s paperwork was not approved by the Quebec Athletic Commission, Beltran will now face Tim Hague.

Nick Catone was forced off the card due to a back injury. Veteran David Loiseau was supposed to step in as his replacement, but Loiseau was denied a license to appear on the card due to alleged ties to organized crime. John Salter is now scheduled to face UFC veteran Jason MacDonald.

* As of now there are no odds posted for the undercard. If odds do get posted I will update and give my picks for those as well.

Since this is just the undercard I will be doing a less detailed breakdown, followed by my prediction. However, if a lot of people tell me they want the undercards covered better, I will probably do more thorough ones next time.

After the replacements, here are the fights scheduled to take place on the undercard on May 8.

Even though Jason MacDonald took this fight on short notice, he is probably the favorite coming in. Jason MacDonald has fought in numerous organizations in his ten years in MMA. I look for MacDonald’s experience in the octagon to help him in this fight.

MacDonald has over 30 more fights than the younger Salter—and he has had to step in for fighters numerous times so this shouldn’t be that much of a problem.

John Salter has a wrestling and Jui Jitsui base, and started training in kickboxing recently. In his first fight he had to replace an injured Mike Massenzio, he lost to up-and-comer Gerald Harris.

I think Salter’s best shot would come from taking this fight into deep waters. MacDonald has a vast experience and technical advantage, but that will be wiped away should MacDonald tire. Salter does have a shot, but will have to fight his type of fight, and not let MacDonald capitalize on any unnecessary mistakes.

Breakdown: I think the experience of MacDonald should win him this fight. He has fought better wrestlers, grapplers, and strikers than Salter—That should help him in winning this fight. Winner Jason MacDonald – Submission (Rnd. 2)

Johnny Hendricks will look to stay undefeated against Canadian T.J Grant. Hendricks came out of OSU as a wrestler, and with Jake Rosholt and Shane Roller, joined Team Takedown looking to become MMA fighters.

Since then he has gone 7-0 with wins over Amir Sabdollah and Ricardo Funch. Hendricks will look to use his superior wrestling credentials to take-down Grant. Known for his powerful GNP, Hendricks will no doubt want to keep Grant on his back for most of the fight.

T.J. Grant will have one major task in fighting Johnny Hendricks. Grant will have to avoid the relentless take-downs of the superior wrestler Hendricks—It is almost a fact Grant will be taken-down, but he won’t be defenseless as he has 12 wins by submission.

Having gone 2-1 in the UFC, this will be Grant’s fourth fight in the UFC. He's is coming off his most impressive win, a TKO victory over Kevin Burns.

Breakdown: I think the recurring factor in this fight will be the take-downs of Hendricks. I don’t think Grant can win unless he pulls off a submission, which is likely given his record. If Hendricks gets over-aggressive on the ground he could get caught, but I don’t think he will. Winner -Johnny Hendricks – Decision (Rnd 3.)

Joey Beltran , a.k.a “The Mexicutioner,” is looking for his second win in the octagon. His first was over Rolles Gracie, this guy , who was promptly cut from the UFC and his family after his horrendous showing.

Beltran is a brawler, as out of his 11 wins 10 have come by KO/TKO. This makes me wonder about the one guy he did submit. I thought it might be submission due to strikes, but apparently he has submitted someone by kimura (he probably fell into it somehow). After his last win, he joked he might be moving to the light heavyweight division by not eating burritos. He should have gone through with that statement.

Tim Hague will never joke about being a light heavyweight, coming in at 6'4" and 265 lbs, he is stuck at heavyweight.

Hague is a man that has his back against the wall. Losing his last two fights to Chris Tuchscherer and Todd Duffe, he was cut by the UFC before getting to step in for the injured Chad Corvin.

Look for Hague to us his size advantage against the smaller Beltran. He should take the fight to the ground where he has the advantage. Beltran's best shot is his puncher's chance, and Hague should look to avoid that chance at all cost.

Breakdown: Even though Hague is stepping in against Beltran on short notice, I think it is his fight to lose. He is the more-skilled and larger fighter. Hague knows what Beltran is looking to do and should look to avoid the stand-up, looking to put Beltran on his back. Winner Tim Hague – Decison (Rnd. 3)

Yoshiyuki Yoshida is looking to bounce back after his KO loss to Anthony Johnson. He will be looking for his third win, and this will be his fifth fight in the UFC. He has gone 2-2 in his first four fights in the UFC, losing to Anthony Johnson and Josh Koscheck. His wins in the UFC include War Machine and Brandon Wolff.

Yoshida will look to mix it up against the relatively new UFC comer. His big fight experience should help him in the this matchup. Look for Yoshida to utilize his Judo, looking to throw Guymon when they clench.

Mike Guymon has a lot to be thankful for. In 2009, he tried killing himself after a dispute with his wife. Police we able to talk him out of it, and after getting help Guymon won the King of The Cage Welterweight title two months later.

Not long after that he got a call about fighting in the UFC. Guymon jumped at the chance, and made his UFC debut at the UFC Fight for the Troops January 2010. He lost to Rory MacDonald via armbar in the first round. Guymon will look to get his first win in the octagon against Yoshida.

Guymon should look to use his kickboxing skills to keep Yoshida off balance for take-downs. I think that his best bet to win is in his stand-up.

The Breakdown: I think this is a matchup of two evenly skilled fighters. I think that Yoshida will be able to use his experience to win this fight. He will do so by taking advantage of an over-aggressive Guymon. Winner Yoshiyuki Yoshida – Submission (Rnd. 1)

Marcus Davis is looking for his ninth win in the octagon. The MMA veteran has notable wins over Chris Lytle, Paul Kelly, and Paul Taylor. Davis was a boxer before becoming an MMA fighter, and will look to use that stand-up advantage over Goulet.

I think that Davis is the favorite in this match, and it is his fight to lose. He has fought the better competition over a shorter period of time. He will look to make his sixth fight in two years.

Jonathan Goulet hasn’t fought in over a year, and will look to make his UFC return against the very tough Marcus Davis. Goulet last fight was in 2008, a fight in which he lost to Mike Swick by KO a minute into the first round.

This isn’t Goulet’s first time in the big time, as this is his ninth fight in the UFC. His last win was against Kuniyoshi Hironaka at UFC 83: St. Pierre VS. Serra. Goulet’s background is Muay Thai and BJJ, he should look to utilize his BJJ rather than his Muay Thai. Look for Goulet to try to get this fight to the ground as Goulet want’s no part of Marcus Davis in the stand-up.

Breakdown: All in all I don’t think that Goulet will be able to do much with the dangerous stand-up of Marcus Davis. If he should get the fight to the ground Davis isn’t a slouch there either. Marcus is capable of winning this fight in more ways than Goulet. Winner Marcus Davis – TKO (Rnd. 2)

Tom Lawlor want’s to get back on track after his controversial loss to Aaron Simpson. Lawlor is looking for his third win in the UFC, going 2-1 in his first three fights. He has UFC wins over C.B Dollaway and Kyle Kingsbury, but his last fight was the Simpson loss.

Lawlor will look to keep the fight standing as Doerksen looks to have the BJJ advantage. Lawlor should only use the take-down for scoring purposes in order to avoid the ground game altogether. Lawlor must look to sprawl and brawl in order to avoid the takedowns of Doersen as he wants the fight to go to the ground.That’s where his training with Simpson should come in hand, as Simpson was the better wrestler.

Doersen is a craft veteran so he will be hard to put away anywhere the fight goes.

Joe Doerksen is looking to fight his way back into the UFC with a win over Lawlor. Doerksen went only 1-5 in his fights in the UFC. He has faced many notable fighters only to come up short in those fights. He is a crafty veteran with over fifty fights.

Doerksen should look to get this fight to the ground. He has over thirty submission wins, and that’s where his best bet to win the fight lies. The question will be if his take-downs will be enough against Lawlor.

Doerksen should remember not to telegraph his take-downs; he should probably mix in strikes in order to keep Tom Lawlor guessing where the he wants to go.

Breakdown : I think that while Doerksen is a viable opponent, he is also the lesser talent. Lawlor seems to be the younger more complete fighter and that is what will win him the fight. Winner Tom Lawlor – TKO (Rnd. 2)

Well that's the end of the UFC 113 Undercard Preview and Predictions. Tell me what you think.